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Entries with the tag: martin brodeur

(May 20, 2015) – St. Louis Blues President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Doug Armstrong announced today the club has named Martin Brodeur Assistant General Manager. The Blues and Brodeur have agreed on a three-year contract.

Brodeur, 43, originally joined the Blues as a free agent on Dec. 2, 2014. After a seven-game stint with the club, during which he posted a 3-3-0 record, Brodeur announced his retirement from the NHL on Jan. 29 and moved into the Blues’ front office as a Senior Advisor to the General Manager.

Martin Brodeur might still return to the Devils some day to work in their front office, but he does not anticipate that happening anytime soon with Lou Lamoriello no longer their general manager.

Although Lamoriello remains as team president in charge of hockey operations, Brodeur sees the Devils going in a bit of a different direction after hiring Ray Shero as GM last week and was already talking with St. Louis Blues general manager Doug Armstrong about remaining as part of that team’s front office. In fact, that will likely become official by the end of next week, after Armstrong returns from the world championships in the Czech Republic.

"Especially with the change they made, I think it’s a great opportunity for me to take a step back and go somewhere – or stay somewhere – that I’ll be able to learn and do things I want to do and try to learn as much as possible and who knows what the future [holds?]," Brodeur told The Record on Monday. "But, it’s less and less likely it’s going to happen in New Jersey for a few years, that’s for sure."

It seldom ends in a nice, neat package any more, because we are in sports Viagra era.

We live longer and our idols tend to perform at passable or better levels for longer periods of time because of better training, nutrition, medicine, travel — and, drug-testing often being half a step behind the cheaters, sometimes chemical intervention.

Go hard, don’t worry about going home.

It’s still said that if Wayne Gretzky can be traded, than anyone can be traded. True. The addendum is that if Gretzky can play out the string with the New York Rangers and St. Louis Blues, than anyone ought to be able to play out the string for whomever and for however long they want.

Still, watching Martin Brodeur retire from the NHL on Thursday surrounded by the logo and colours of a team for which he’s played all of seven games seemed a little much, even by todays standards of disposability.

He’s a New Jersey Devil — no, he IS the New Jersey Devils.

continued which includes an interview Elliotte Friedman did with Brodeur today...

(Jan. 29, 2015) – St. Louis Blues President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Doug Armstrong announced today that in conjunction with his retirement from the National Hockey League (NHL), Martin Brodeur will remain with the Blues as a Senior Advisor to the General Manager.

(Jan. 27, 2015) – St. Louis Blues President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Doug Armstrong announced today that goaltender Martin Brodeur will announce his retirement from the National Hockey League (NHL) on Thursday at Scottrade Center. Armstrong also stated that Brodeur will remain with the organization in a management role. The Blues will hold a press conference for the announcement on Thursday at 10:30 a.m. and attendees will include Brodeur, Armstrong and Blues Hall-of-Famers Bernie Federko, Brett Hull and Al MacInnis. Neither the Blues or Brodeur will comment on the announcement until Thursday’s press conference.

Martin Brodeur is stepping away from the crease and joining the St. Louis Blues front office, Sportsnet has learned.

The NHL’s all-time winningest goalie made the decision after taking a break from the NHL team to ponder his future. Two sources confirmed that Brodeur took the Blues up on the offer of an executive role.

ST. LOUIS - St. Louis Blues President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Doug Armstrong announced today the club has given goaltender Martin Brodeur a one-week leave of absence from the team.

Brodeur will rejoin the club in one week and his future will be addressed at that time.

The 42-year-old Montreal, Quebec native has appeared in seven games for the Blues this season, posting a 3-3-0 record to go along with a 2.87 goals-against average, a .899 save-percentage and one shutout.

The Blues and Brodeur will have no further comment at this time.

added 5:19pm,

STL is back to a two-goalie team -- Jake Allen and Brian Elliott. Marty Brodeur has gone home and asked STL for a week to ponder his future.

Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman delivered his "headlines" sans partner-in-scoops Damien Cox on Saturday evening, and it certainly wasn't the same without Cox's astute jabs, but Friedman delivered a jam-packed set of news and notes, starting with Leon Draisaitl's return to Major Junior hockey

Continuing with this regarding Wayne Gretzky's possible involvement with the Oilers going forward, as noted by Sportsnet's Rory Boylen...

“There was a rumour he would go back and be offered ‘would you like to work in hockey ops, would you like to work in business ops,’” Friedman said. “I reached out to him by email, his response was that is not true.”

But it wouldn’t be entirely accurate to say Gretzky won’t be a part of the Oilers.

Added Friedman: “And then (Gretzky) had a great line, he said ‘But we have talked a lot about putting a Gretzky’s inside the new arena.’ I think the one thing we can report is you can expect to see the restaurant there.”

And Friedman addressed Martin Brodeur's future with the Blues (to some extent), he discussed Claude Giroux and Mikael Backlund's injuries, the All-Star Game's format as "very similar" to the player draft (cars included), and he also nixed talk of a Jhonas Enroth to Minnesota deal.

Last week, the St. Louis Blues signed future Hockey Hall of Famer Martin Brodeur to a bonus-laden one-year contract—he earned $20,000 for his win Saturday. The interesting point wasn’t so much that Brodeur had found a major-league job, but rather in the Blues’ handling of the signing.

The team treated the addition of Brodeur not as the quiet add of a veteran backup, but rather as the coronation of a new starter. Head coach Ken Hitchcock told the Blues’ official website that Brodeur would play if he was on the roster, that “he’s not going to back up.” That same website was reworked so that anyone going to stlouisblues.com first landed on a full-page “Welcome Marty” graphic.

It’s an interesting tack for the team to take. While Brodeur’s career obviously commands tremendous respect, it isn’t at all clear that his current level of ability deserves an NHL contract, let alone the level of fanfare the Blues lavished on him. There really isn’t much history of goalies contributing meaningful games as they get into their 40s; even Hall of Famers aren’t immune to the ravages of time.

Martin Brodeur is expected to start tonight for the St. Louis Blues in Nashville.

What are your expectations?

Below, a snapshot of his 2013-14 regular season.

added 11:49am, from Jeremy Rutherford of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch,

"I'm really appreciative to get an opportunity and I'll be really appreciative to get a game," Brodeur said in his most recent interview Wednesday afternoon, prior to the announcement of his start tonight. "I haven't skated in this kind of competition for about eight months. (But) it's been a great five days. The body is feeling pretty good for an old guy."

The Grey Cup is taking place today, which is why the Wings-Canucks matinee is the only NHL game on the schedule, and the Toronto Sun's Steve Simmons spends the vast majority of his Sunday notebook discussing the match-up between the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and Calgary Stampeders (airing at 6 PM EST on TSN), but he spends one meaty paragraph discussing all things NHL-related:

I wonder if Bob McCown read his own book. In the bestselling 100 Greatest Hockey Arguments, McCown makes a case against Paul Henderson’s inclusion in the Hockey Hall of Fame. A strong case. Lately, he has been pushing the Henderson Hall of Fame agenda. Strange ... On Saturday afternoon, the Montreal Canadiens and Vancouver Canucks were tied for the most points in the NHL and that has to be wrong, doesn’t it? ... The first quarter MVP in the NHL: Pekka Rinne ...

“He can still play; his skills haven’t eroded that much. When you’re healthy, it’s harder because you know you can still play. But now you’ve got to get a team to buy into that. And when you can’t find somebody, it’s a blow to your ego.

“Guys that get to 40 and are healthy and can still play at a high level … I know guys in different sports that have gone through that. They still think they can play, but suddenly there’s not offers. It’s a really hard thing to accept. I got lucky — my body was falling apart.”

-Grant Fuhr on Martin Brodeur. More on this topic from Luke Fox of Sportsnet.

"Both physically and mentally Marty is ready to have another season,” Brisson told me today. “Training camps are starting next week. There’s no rush. However, once training camp opens and once the season opens in early October, there’s going to be opportunities, I believe, for Marty. It may come early. It may come a little later. … If you look at every season, there’s always a situation that is not perfect. Perhaps, a goaltender will get an injury or a goalie that doesn’t start off the season on the right foot. Now, that doesn’t mean that any team that shows up Marty is going to go. It has to make sense to Marty.”

Brodeur has already said he is willing to be a backup in the right situation – on a team with a good chance to win – though he’d clearly love a chance to be a No. 1, as well. It’s just a matter of waiting for that right situation to arise.

Once the dust settled following the initial free agent frenzy on July 1, Brisson and Brodeur both knew things would be quiet until after training camps opened. (Players report for physicals next Thursday and begin practices the next day.)

“Nothing happens in July and August once free agency is over,” Brisson said.

The Montreal Canadiens showed some interest in free agent goaltender Martin Brodeur over the summer, according to RDS hockey analyst and former Canadien Vincent Damphousse.

Damphousse appeared on the season debut of the RDS program l'Antichambre on Monday, saying that Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin met with Brodeur's agent Pat Brisson in July to discuss the possibility of the future Hall of Fame goaltender as a fit.

"He's a good veteran," said Damphousse, noting that the Canadiens are looking to fill the leadership void with the departure of Brian Gionta and Josh Gorges. "He would be able to surround the captain and assistants. He could keep things calm. He's always smiling and jovial."

Via SI's Allan Muir, New Jersey Devils GM Lou Lamoriello has every intention of employing Martin Brodeur should the legendary goaltender not find the "right fit" with a championship-contending team, but the Newark Star-Ledger's Steve Politi reports that Lamoriello's standing offer involves a front-office job:

What happens if Brodeur gets to a point where he realizes the right fit isn't there? Lamoriello has the answer. The longtime Devils GM said Brodeur has a job waiting for him with the Devils if he decides to stop playing.

"He knows that," Lamoriello said. "He knows he'll be a Devil for the rest of his life. What Marty has done and the type of personality he is, and what his experience is, it's a no brainer. He's a Devil."

But Lamoriello wonders: Does Brodeur want to work? He's been around enough great players to know that this is not always the case.

Ed (Queens Village): If you had to pick 1 this season Kings repeat as Cup Champs or Red Wings miss playoffs for 1st time this century?

Katie Strang: Well, I really do not like ever doubting the Wings. That record speaks for itself and the club has a well-earned reputation for its winning culture. That said, I think the chances of them missing are far greater than a Kings repeat. Winning a Cup takes so many elements beyond great personnel and a bevvy of talent. It takes grit, depth and yes, some luck. Especially during the salary-cap era, dynastic teams are harder to come by. Anything can happen in the East though I am banking on Wings making it again this year,

Michael (Minnesota): If you were Chuck Fletcher, what would you do with your goalie situation? Are you tempted to sign Brodeur?

Katie Strang: If I were Chuck Fletcher I'd be extremely concerned about my goaltending situation. I know he said publicly that there will be training camp competition with Harding, Backstrom and Kuemper but I wouldn't feel too confident with that. That's why, since the trade deadline, many assumed Brodeur would be a great fit there. His sons also play at famed hockey prep school Shattuck St. Mary's in Fairbault, MN. Makes a lot of sense. But I think Brodeur is holding out for potentially an injury situation that opens a spot up.

"Marty and I have come to an agreement that is best for both himself and the organization, and there's nothing negative about that. Marty knows what it is to be a No. 1 goalie and to have that feeling, and that's what he wants. Cory (Schneider) feels the same way.

"I think it's time to move forward, but never negate what Marty has brought [to the Devils], nor was the door ever shut. It was a mutual understanding of what was best for both parties. Marty will always be a Devil and the communication with him is still there, even recently."

-Lou Lamoriello, GM of the New Jersey Devils on Martin Brodeur. A bit more from Mike Morreale of NHL.com.

“Does he want to play with Ondrej Pavelec in Winnipeg? I don’t know. Other than that, where’s he going? [Toronto] only works if they move Reimer.

“Listen. If I’m Marty, I’ve played a long time. My first and last name is all over the record books. I’ve made a ton of money. I’ve had an impact on the game.

“He’s been the guy the whole time; he’s always been the guy. He wants to be the guy every night. He doesn’t want to back anybody up. So where’s he going to play?

“It’s all about weighing the fit versus the opportunity. I don’t see it. That’s not to say it can’t present itself. Heaven forbid, there’s an injury or someone has a slow start. Maybe. Aside from that, right now, I don’t really see it. And that’s not a slight against him. It’s just the marketplace.”

-Retired NHL goaltender Kevin Weekes on Martin Brodeur. More from Weekes at Sportsnet on some goaltending duos around the league...

The Toronto Sun's Steve Simmons offers a little less time to hockey notes in the middle of the summer, and aside from his weekly anti-Corsi rant, here's the gist of his hockey commentary from his Sunday notebook:

What happens if David Clarkson is as inept in Year 2 with the Leafs as he was in Year 1? Do they want a $5-million player on their fourth line (who isn’t Mike Richards)? Or will Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment swallow hard and send him to the minors, even if there is very little salary-cap help for doing so. In the end, performance will be up to Clarkson. One NHL scout makes a Michal Handzus comparison to Clarkson: “Los Angeles signed him to a large free-agent contract in ’07. And he sucked the first year. They were kind of frantic about that. But after that, he played OK for them. He really did."

...

Still available in free agency: Martin Brodeur, Tim Thomas and Ilya Bryzgalov ... Went over the list of 234 unsigned free agents: The only one I had semi-interest in was Daniel Winnik, banging winger, formerly of the Anaheim Ducks

Sportsnet's Luke Fox has been monitoring the fates of the "NHL's Top 10 Unrestricted Free Agents"--with an emphasis on those who remain on the marketplace--The Score's Thomas Drance has penned a list of 3 categories of "cheap free agent gambles that pay off year after year," and while general managers are most likely "at the lake" or golf course right now (World Junior Selection camps begin in August and the Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament in the Czech Republic kicks off the 2014-2015 scouting season), both Fox, Drance and ESPN's Craig Custance duly note that there are some bargains out there.

Said players tend to have to reduce their asking prices and may end up waiting until training camps begin to find their NHL homes, but the Devin Setoguchis, Tomas Vokouns, Dustin Penners, Daniel Winniks, etc. do tend to make significant impacts eventually...

Then, while some of you were sleeping, the Lightning made another trade, sending (per Sportsnet) Nate Thompson and his $1.6 million cap hit to Anaheim for a 6th-round pick.

The team did bring in Jason Garrison's $4.6 million cap hit during the first day of the draft, but it looks like the Lightning are trying to do something big, but ESPN's Pierre LeBrun reports that there be cap weirdness afoot:

FYI that Tampa Bay is retaining 1/3 of Gagner's salary in trade to Arizona

This stuff happened so quickly that even Capgeek hasn't had a chance to catch up, but the Bolts have a little short of $9 million in cap space now. Who are they going after? Sportsnet's Chris Johnston believes it might be a familiar name...

“I want to play the game. I understand my age, for people, is a big deal, but I stayed healthy all year. I played 39 games. Didn’t miss a practice. Didn’t miss a game. I was pretty happy about that.said.

“My body responded, and my mind is ready to go again. I’m excited about the new challenge that’s going to come in front of me.”

-Martin Brodeur as he prepares for free agency. More on and from Brodeur by Luke Fox of Sportsnet.

“It’s going to be probably my last year,” the NHL’s all-time leader in wins and shutouts told The Record today. “You never know what kind of energy I’m going to get from my decision, but I’m not looking for anything more than one year that’s for sure.”

It’s been 24 years since the Devils drafted Brodeur 20th overall and he’s played all 20 of his NHL seasons in their uniform, but with Cory Schneider lined up as their long-term goaltender of the future he realizes it might be best for him and the organization if he finishes his career elsewhere in 2014-15.

That Brodeur intends to explore the UFA market is something he said multiple times before the end of the Devils’ season. He was briefly a UFA in 2012 before he ended up re-signing with the Devils for two more seasons.

He admits this time around is going to be different.

“I’m going to give myself the opportunity to look at what’s out there and see if there’s something that’s interesting to me,” he said. “It doesn’t mean it’s not going to be in New Jersey, but I’m going to look everywhere, like I did two years ago. But now, the circumstances are a lot different with having Schneids here, so we’ll see.”

"I've come to the conclusion that I'm definitely going to be available July 1,'' Brodeur told ESPN.com Friday. "I want to play one more season and I want to see what's out there."

Brodeur, who turned 42 last month, said he hasn't completely shut the door on returning to the Devils but feels like it's most likely he's going to be elsewhere next season.

"I've had a lot of good conversations with the Devils, but I'm not inclined at going back at this point," said Brodeur, whose contract expires June 30. "I just feel that with Schneids (goalie Corey Schneider) the organization has to move on. Me being around might be tough a little bit for them. I don't completely put it out of the question (returning to New Jersey) but I don't want to mess up the cards for the Devils.

"At the end of the day, it doesn't matter where I go next, I'm always going to be a Devil. I'm always going to come back to the organization. But I want to play one more year. So I'll see what's out there."

The Toronto Sun's Steve Simmons discusses a multitude of topics in his Sunday column, but this one struck me as most pertinent given the fact that player development continues to evolve into a more systematic and borderline scientific practice in every "skater" position, but not in goal:

When the Maple Leafs selected Mikael Tellqvist with the 70th pick in the 2000 NHL Draft, not only did they believe they were getting the best young goaltender in Sweden, but they thought they were getting the most NHL-ready goalie.

They were correct about Tellqvist — he played his first game for the Leafs in the 2002-03 season, three years before the best goalie from that class would emerge. That goalie’s name: Henrik Lundqvist.

Lundqvist was the 22nd goalie chosen that year, the third Swede taken: Rick DiPietro was the first pick of that draft and a goalie named Brent Krahn went in the first round to Calgary as well. Krahn went on to play one period of NHL hockey and it wasn’t for the Flames.

Lundqvist has grown into a generational goaltender and the lesson about scouting goaltenders is clear — nobody really knows.

Ed Belfour and Curtis Joseph were never drafted. The Flames once traded up to get Trevor Kidd when Martin Brodeur was available. Craig Billington and Daryl Reaugh were taken ahead of Patrick Roy in 1984.

And the goalie selected just before Jonathan Quick was taken by Los Angeles: Kristofer Westblom? He spent this season stopping pucks for the Brampton Beast.

The New York Post's Larry Brooks' criticism of Martin Brodeur for sticking it out as #30's game diminished has struck me as strangely personal, and today, Brooks reveals that he's known he's had Brodeur's ear all along--because Brodeur would seek out Brooks' advice earlier in his career:

The phone rang in my Boston hotel room on the night of May 6, 1994, as I was writing my column in advance of Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semifinals between the Devils and Bruins. New Jersey trailed the series 2-1 after having won the previous match at Boston Garden with Chris Terreri in nets following two defeats at the Meadowlands behind rookie Martin Brodeur.

Jacques Lemaire, the head coach, hadn’t revealed whether he was sticking with Terreri — who had a pedigree at Boston Garden, previously excelling in the old barn when he played for Providence College — or going back to Brodeur, who had outlasted Dominik Hasek and the Sabres in a compelling seven-game first-round series that featured a Game 6 quadruple overtime 1-0 defeat in Buffalo.

The New Jersey Devils dropped their 13th shootout of the season on Friday night, losing 3-2 to the Islanders.

Martin Brodeur may or may not have played in his last game as a Devil on Friday, but when I watched this post-game video of Brodeur's comments, posted by the Devils, I certainly believe that he's going to play somewhere next season:

“I don’t know enough about his personal life, but don’t go looking at your coach, your GM or the other goaltender or things around you. It’s pretty obvious to me and everyone in the league that when Cory Schneider shows up, somebody is going to take a bit of a back seat.

“And, by the way, he’s played 37 games. I don’t know how many backup goaltenders in the NHL have started 37. So I think there is a little hurt pride. We all have good egos, otherwise we can’t do this. I understand that. I have great respect for Marty and I feel for him.”

-Denis Potvin on Martin Brodeur. More from Rich Chere of the Star Ledger.

This is what Brodeur had to say today, from Tom Gulitti of Fire & Ice,

If he does come back to the Devils, Brodeur said that will mean he is OK with having a limited workload and role. He seems to be hoping to find a larger role on another team, though. And if he doesn’t find what he’s looking for elsewhere or with the Devils, retirement is also an option.

“That’s something that the situation I’m going to get myself in is something I’m going to be OK with,” he said. “So, if you see me here next year, it’s because I’m OK to be sharing the net or doing whatever I’m going to be told. But I’m not going to go through what I’ve done (this season): Thinking that you’re still No. 1 and next thing you know you’re just kind of yo-yoing up a little bit. I’m going to have the power of that next year. This year I didn’t have (it).”

“The thing is, we used to be a team that didn’t hover over .500,” Brodeur said Wednesday afternoon. “That’s something only the last few years we’ve been content with being that.

“Even the year we made it all the way (2011-12), all year it’s not like we gave ourselves a big cushion. We had to come back late to the middle of the season and we had to push to get to the playoffs.”

“So that’s something that going forward (Lamoriello) has to make sure we get back to that for the organization to be more of an impact. That means having a solid regular season and a solid start to the regular season, no letdown and be a power house like some of the teams are.”

-Martin Brodeur on the New Jersey Devils. More from Dave Hutchinson of the Star Ledger...

“When you know you have an athlete that is going to be a game breaker and he’s going to be one of the top players (available) and the rules are free agency comes a lot younger than it used to, you have to make commitments. You see around the league some of the guys, the (Steven) Stamkos and etc., they don’t wait. They get them done. And we let him walk to free agency. That’s a decision of the organization, regardless of it was financial at the time with the ownership that we had, but he was our property for a long time and we lost him.”

-Martin Brodeur on the Devils not re-signing Zach Parise. More from Tom Gulitti of Fire & Ice.

From the outside, it might be hard to understand. Why does Martin Brodeur keep talking about playing elsewhere? He has spent his entire career with the New Jersey Devils. He has made millions of dollars. He has won 684 games – more than any other goaltender in NHL history – and three Stanley Cups. Why not go out with grace? What more does he need?

But Brodeur isn’t afraid of hanging on too long. He’s afraid of not hanging on long enough. He isn’t worried he will regret leaving the Devils. He’s worried he will regret leaving the game. In the end, he said, he doesn’t want to sit there and say to himself, “I should have done something.”

“That’s what I’m scared of the most – not living to the fullest in the NHL,” Brodeur said. “If they let you play, you might as well play.”

Brodeur is 41 and at the end of his contract. He is unhappy backing up Cory Schneider, a 27-year-old the Devils acquired from the Vancouver Canucks last year for the ninth overall pick in the draft. All season, he has talked about being open to a trade if he could play more, if he had a chance to win the Cup and if it helped the Devils.

When Martin Brodeur starts in goal for the Devils Tuesday night at the Prudential Center, it will be the 1,250th time he’s stood between the pipes for New Jersey in the regular season. Sources say, it’s likely it will also be the last time.

With Wednesday’s NHL trading deadline looming, a source told the Daily News the Devils and Minnesota have agreed upon a deal that would send the lifelong Devil and future Hall of Famer to the Wild. The deal is pending the approval of Brodeur, who has a no-trade clause in his contract, and, according to the source, wanted one last home game with Devils.

Via Chris Nichols on Twitter, the Bergen Record's Tom Gulitti reports that, should Martin Brodeur consider being traded, he could find himself in Minnesota:

Brodeur, 41, is in the final season of a contract that includes a no-trade clause, so he’d have to approve any trade general manager Lou Lamoriello might be offered. According to two sources, the Minnesota Wild have contacted Lamoriello about acquiring Brodeur as insurance for and possibly an alternative to rookie Darcy Kuemper.

Kuemper, 23, has played in only 23 NHL games, but has excelled in taking over as the Wild’s No. 1 with Niklas Backstrom trying to play through an abdominal injury and Josh Harding out indefinitely. Still, the Wild would like to add an experienced second goaltender to share some of the load and be there to take over if Kuemper falters.

A three-time Stanley Cup-winner such as Brodeur, who backstopped the Devils to the Cup Finals just two seasons ago, would definitely fit that bill. The Wild are reportedly also interested in Jaroslav Halak, who was shipped to Buffalo in Friday’s blockbuster trade that sent Ryan Miller to St. Louis, but are apparently not completely convinced Halak would be the right goalie for them.

It is becoming increasingly clear Martin Brodeur will finish his NHL career someplace other than New Jersey if he wishes to play next season, but not so clear at all where the all-time goaltender will finish this season.

Brodeur is expected to ponder his options during the winter recess, to consider whether requesting a trade would be mutually beneficial for him and the Devils, who have their noses pressed against the outside of the playoff window and are in severe danger of missing the tournament for the third time in the past four seasons.

After 20 seasons, the Devils’ net belongs to someone else. No one ever had a longer run as a club’s No. 1 than Brodeur — not Frank Brimsek, not Turk Broda, not Jacques Plante, not Glenn Hall, not Tony Esposito, not Dominik Hasek, not Patrick Roy, and not even close.

With Schneider clearly emerging as the club’s No. 1, Brodeur does not think a call from general manager Lou Lamoriello asking him to waive his no-trade clause would be inconceivable.

“No, not at all,” Brodeur told The Star-Ledger on Tuesday. “It’s within the team’s rights to try and make themselves better. The fact is, I have the luxury to decide what I want to do. I hope if he (Lamoriello) is able to help the team, he’ll ask, regardless of what it is. It’s definitely something that is possible.”

Brodeur said he would not be insulted if he is asked to accept a trade. In fact, it might be attractive if he gets a chance to play more often. Schneider’s start against the St. Louis Blues Tuesday night at Scottrade Center will be his seventh in 10 games.

Goaltender Martin Brodeur and the Devils had a scare with 1:31 remaining in tonight’s 2-1 loss in San Joses when Brodeur was struck in the back of the neck wit the puck while diving to stop a Brent Burns shot. Brodeur lay motionless on his back for about a minute before finally getting up to his knees. He eventually got up and remained in the game.

“It was more of a kind of electric shock through my body,” Brodeur explained. “It was kind of a little numbness everywhere. It went really quick through my legs and feet and fingers. I wasn’t sure. I never felt that before, so that’s why I didn’t move. When I got up, I was a little dizzy, but I guess it’s normal when you go through a little experience like that.”

The Garden can undergo all sorts of transformations, but no matter what, then, now and seemingly for always, there is Martin Brodeur leading the Devils onto the ice from the Zamboni corner entrance at 33rd and Eighth.

There’s been more than 20 years of it, from the time as a 19-year-old Brodeur started Game 5 of the 1992 first round, to the epochal 1994 conference final, to his 23-game unbeaten streak against the Blueshirts beginning in 1997, to the stunning Battle of the Hudson victory two years ago … to Tuesday night’s 3-2 victory over the Rangers at 41 years and 190 days of age.

“Twenty years as a goaltender; it’s amazing and will never be done again,” Jaromir Jagr told The Post. “Think of it, 20 years as a No. 1; that kind of thing doesn’t happen in sports.

“Who could do that? Maybe [Peyton] Manning as a quarterback. But that’s it,” No. 68 said. “For me, if I’m not the No. 1 right wing, I still have three other chances to be on the team, but Marty as No. 1 for 20 years? No one else can do that and no one else will do that.”

In his "Rumblings" article, LeBrun discusses the hot-button issues of goalie and "staged" fights...

I think the theme of the fighting discussion next week, if it is indeed held, will be along the lines of continuing to find ways to minimize some aspects of fighting in the game, just like the NHL's implementing the helmet rule this season in which fighters have to keep their lids on or else get an extra penalty for fighting without it. Calm down, fighting fans, the idea is not to completely ban fighting, but rather to get rid of some of the elements hockey people no longer want.

For example, Gabriel Landeskog's fight with Alex Chiasson last Friday night is what people still want to see: an emotional fight between two good hockey players that most hockey people feel strongly still has an important place in the game. But having two enforcers go at it in a staged fight? That has grown stale for many people.

One idea that could come up next week is the current rule that stipulates three fighting majors and you’re thrown out of the game; why not make it two fighting majors and you’re out, instead?

LeBrun outlines a few more points of emphasis for the GM's meetings...

“I think he’s (Cory Schneider) in the net now to stay. I don’t see that’s going to be changed any time soon. I’ll be ready if it is, but I think we’ve got to try to win some games somehow. This is what (head coach Pete DeBoer) feels is the best opportunity for him to be successful is having (Schneider) in the net and that’s fine. If we win, everybody’s happy. Even though I don’t play, it’s more enjoyable to be around.

“Days like today are not fun.”

-Martin Brodeur of the New Jersey Devils. More from Tom Gulitti of Fire & Ice.

What becomes of Peter Laviolette and how much heat is there now on Paul Holmgren?

[Darren] Dreger: For the moment Laviolette and his family are trying to stay below the radar. Obviously Laviolette is not happy with the way things ended with the Philadelphia Flyers so he may lay low. He wants to coach again in the NHL and given his resume it's believed that he will get another opportunity.

If things don't materialize in the NHL say before Christmas, I'm told Laviolette would consider going over to Europe and coaching there. It's not too far-fetched that Laviolette and his family would consider that.

As for Holmgren, he was looking for Ron Hextall. Since Holmgren took over as GM of the Flyers he has been constantly trying to lure Hextall from the Los Angeles Kings. There's no imminent danger for Holmgren and the belief is he will go out on his own terms and Hextall ultimately would be his successor.

The New York Times' Pat Hickens reports that Jagr was also demoted during Friday night's game, and while it's early--very early--Hickens wonders aloud whether an incredibly short summer (thanks to Jagr's foray into late June with the Cup-finalist Bruins) and a preseason-less campaign have yielded simply a backfire or two from the revving engine of an "Old Warhorse," or perhaps something more ominous:

“It’s tough,” [Devils coach Pete] DeBoer said after Friday night’s loss. “He didn’t play any exhibition games, he missed all of training camp. He gave us some strong shifts in the overtime and down the stretch.”

While he is not the same player who won five Art Ross trophies as the league’s leading point scorer and who was selected for nine All-Star teams, Jagr showed flashes of brilliance Friday. He still glides smoothly and strongly on his skates and still commands a defender when he has the puck. He nearly picked up his first point in the first period Friday, setting up [Ryane] Clowe at the goal mouth, but Clowe’s shot hit the post.